Secrets of the Uchiha
by silentwarriorX
Summary: Takes place shortly after the battle with pain. It started As a simple mission to take down an S ranked Criminal but all that changes when his true identity is revealed, and what will happen when Sakura finally begins realizing her true feelings for Naruto? Eventual Narusaku, inoxOC, possible Shikatema. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

"He's close" Announced pakuun

There they were Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Kakashi Hatake, Hinata hyuuga, Kiba Inuzaka and Shino Abarame.

Their mission was simple, yet quite possibly the most difficult they had faced yet.

Find and confine this mysterious man by the name of Zakushi. Apparently he had some kind of connection with Akatsuki and he had to be taken down.

"Prepare yourselves we're getting close" said pakuun as he leapt from tree branch to tree branch.

"There!" Kiba shouted pointing into a clearing up ahead.

They all landed into the small clearing and were stunned at what they saw. There sat A lone man, no boy no older than the rest of them cross-legged hands together in meditation. He was clad In long blue robes with torn off strips of black hanging down and blowing in the breeze were his long brown locks which seemed to fit around his face perfectly just staying out of his eyes.

Sakura and hinata nearly blushed at this site. But no there was no time for that attractive or not this was an S ranked criminal and he was sure to be dangerous.

They stood there for a few Moments waiting for something to happen when suddenly a Voice rang out

"What are you doing here?"

"We are Shinobi of Konohagakure an we're here to take you in for questioning... Zakushi!". Exclaimed Kakashi

"So you know my name? Very well then I will go with you"

"WHAT? You're just going to come with us? No running? No fighting? You're just going to put your head down and accept defeat like a sad puppy?" Shouted kiba

"That's enough Kiba!" Kakashi replyed. "he does have a point though what kind of game are you playing here?"

"No games. There are 7 of you and only one of me, I don't stand a chance."

"Fine if that's how you're going to play it then we'll happily oblige. Subdue him Hinata!"

Hinata struck all of his chakra points rendering him completely useless. He simply flopped over without a sound. Kakashi threw him over his shoulder and they were off.

They set up camp that night about 20 miles outside of konoha, they would leave for home in the morning. Zakushi had recovered his chakra but was now completely subdued by chakra enhanced chains.

Sakura couldn't help but feel bad for him he had come with month fight, he hadn't complained a single time and yet they were treating him like trash. Maybe he was a missing nin, and maybe he was classified as a dangerous criminal but for what reason? Did they really even know that he was associated with Akatsuki?

Everyone was asleep except her and Sakura decided she needed some answers.

She walked over to the tree where he was tied up and tossed him a piece of bread which he caught in his mouth, and seemingly swallowed whole.

"Hmm. I see you criminal types don't have any manners" Sakura exclaimed

"Excuse my rudeness umm... Girl its just that I haven't eaten in over a week" said Zakushi

"For your information 'Zakushi' my name is Sakura Haruno. And why the hell haven't you eaten for a week?"

"Well I... Guess I got a little caught up in my meditation. I didn't realize I'd been out here for so long" Zakushi said with a sad smile on his face

"Hmm."

"So what's your story then Sakura?"

"My story? That isn't really any of your concern right now. But if I knew yours then maybe I could help you"

"Why would you want to help me? You've been told I'm some horrible criminal who betrayed his village right?"

"Perhaps. But I think there's more to you than meets the eye, you don't seem like the criminal type.

"Well maybe you're right, maybe not. But it doesn't really matter. The village is already planning my execution"

"Why? What gives them the right?"

"Well Sakura Haruno I am a missing ninja yes but from where?"

"you don't mean..."

"Yes I am a former shinobi of Konohagakure"

Sakura sat there stunned for a moment. How was he from konoha? He couldn't have been much older than her yet he was a missing nin and an S ranked criminal?

"How old are you?" Sakura asked

"I am 16 years of age"

"Then why did I never see you in the academy? You should have been there the at the same time as me!"

"Ahh I suppose so but the real question, Sakura is how long have I been 16?"

"Wha..."

"Hey Sakura! What are you doing talking to this guy? He'll fill your head with all kinds if nonsense!" Exclaimed naruto as he walked towards the tree where they stood

"Bu..."

"No buts Sakura c'mon we need to get rested up for tommorow."

"Okay naruto"

there they left a smirking Zakushi.

Morning came and went for the group and they arrived at the gates of Konoha early in the afternoon.

And now here Zakushi was before the council.

"The decision is unanimous" Said koharu... "Death"

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement except Tsunade who still wasn't convinced

"Actually I am still undecided" Tsunade exclaimed

Groans were heard All throughout the room. Inoichi was the first to speak

"How can you say such a thing? There have been multiple reports of his involvement with Akatsuki, on top of that he abandoned the leaf village which is a crime in itself!"

"Perhaps. But explain this inoich, why doesn't anyone remember him being in the academy? Becoming a Shinobi? He isn't even on any records!"

Shikaku spoke up this time.

"You have a point Tsunade but he could have easily changed his appearance. And who's to say Zakushi is even his real name?"

"This is true but how can we condemn him to death without even giving him a chance to speak? We don't even know for a fact that he is in league with the Akatsuki" replied Tsunade

"Hmm... Perhaps he does deserve a chance to speak" Koharu suggested

Most agreed and Koharu signaled for him to speak.

"Hmm. Well I guess I should start with my name... My full name"

"Zakushi Uchiha"


	2. Revelation

Well guys here's chapter 2, kind of short like the last but these first few are really just an introduction to the real story, which promises to be pretty long :p This is my first fic and I really hope you guys like it! Please review!

"Zakushi Uchiha?" Tsunade whispered under her breath still stunned at his proclamation

The entire room was in an uproar as everyone shouted with disbelief

"SILENCE" Tsunade screamed as she slammed her fist into the table breaking it in two, the room instantly calmed down, everyone with shocked expressions on their faces

"what proof do you have to back up this claim 'Zakushi Uchiha'" she said mockingly

"well, there's always this" Said Zakushi calmly as he closed his eyes and then opened them to reveal two blood red orbs

"The sharingan?! But how? That traitorous bastard Sasuke is the only remaining Uchiha, he made sure of that when he killed his brother" Koharu exclaimed

"And what makes you think that all the Uchiha were inside the village during itachi's massacre? Perhaps my father doesn't even know about me, perhaps he's even still alive himself.." Zakushi replied

Koharu had a stunned expression on his face

"Either way I don't know what you're talking about with this Akatsuki nonsense, I have nothing to do with them, I was raised in a small farm town with my mother, it's likely the rumor was started by bandits who wanted me gone so they could ransack the village" he explained

"So you say!" koharu shouted

"and what gives us any reason to believe you? If anything the fact that you're an Uchiha makes you even more dangerous!"

"I believe him.." Tsunade said reluctantly

"I can tell when someone is telling the truth, i can see the pain of abandonment in his eyes, it's likely he never even knew his father"

"well if he's from some small farming town than who gave us all the idea that he was from Konoha in the first place?" Shikaku stepped in

"That was me actually.." Zakushi spoke up

"you see I spread that rumor so that I may have an audience with all of you, I have important news about the akatsuki, and the truth about their leader.."

"So, spit it out than!" Said Koharu

"Well actually... I have a few conditions first"

"What conditions boy?!"

"First off, I want you to guarantee me safe passage out of here, full immunity from the law"

"deal! What's the other?" Tsunade proclaimed as she tilted her head in anticipation at gaining new Intel about the akatsuki

"why you..." koharu started but was cut off by Zakushi

"The second is that I want to become a Konoha Shinobi. And considering my skills I expect you to start me off at chuunin level"

"Preposterous! We would never allow such a..." Koharu was cut off again by Tsunade

"Deal"

Koharu was staring viciously at Tsunade but even his glare was cut off by the words of the powerful blonde

"IF of course we deem your Intel reliable"

This seemed to sate Koharu if only a little

"Very well than, I think you'll find it very interesting indeed." said Zakushi

"The true leader of the akatsuki is none other than my father, Madara uchiha.."

A/N: Like I said very short but these chapters were just an introduction, the next will be Much longer, and you can expect to see that up her Saturday or Sunday. Thanks for reading! And please review!


	3. Truth

There was no uproar this time. The room was still, silent even. It seemed like hours before Koharu finally spoke up

"I admit you caught me by surprise with that one boy. But do you seriously expect us to believe such a preposterous claim?"

"I do Actually" Zakushi said as his eyes began to spark to life, as if tiny flames were ablaze around his pupils, Everyone one in the room was grabbing their heads as if in pain. Images of Zakushis past flooded through their minds, Madara abandoning him, his mother being murdered by bandits, the rage and sorrow that filled him. And ultimately his resolve to help the very village that his father founded. But then, as soon as it had begun it was over and looks of disbelief appeared on all their faces

"What... Was that? I've never seen a mind transfer jutsu like that one" Inoichi said with a snarl

"That was no mind transfer, I was simply making you... Understand. That is the true power of my sharingan" zakushi replied

"What kind of games are you playing boy?! Do you expect us to believe that nonsense you forced into our minds?" Koharu lashed out

Homura suddenly stood up with Great force

"Koharu, that's enough! You and I both know whatever that boy just did it was no genjutsu. He was showing us his past, and in doing do proving his word as the truth"

"Very well" Koharu said dejectedly

"So if what he's saying about Madara is the truth, and I believe it is we need to act fast! Boy please relay us all the information you have on the akatsuki, and we will grant you your request. All those in favor?"

This time everyone agreed, somehow they knew that what he showed them was the truth.

"Very well than! Zakushi Uchiha I hereby grant you freedom, and deem you a shinobi of konohagakure. You are dismissed, ill call for someone to show you to your new quarters" Tsunade said

"Thanks you oh wise old bag" Zakushi replied Sarcastically

It took all of Tsunades power not to dive over the table and pound his face in right then and there. But she had better things to do, though she could still think of one punishment for him.

"Messenger! Get me naruto" She barked

"Hai Hokage-Sama"

Meanwhile Sakura, Naruto, Hinata and kiba Sat outside by a tree resting

"So... Um.. What do you think they'll do with him?" Hinata said shyly

"They're probably shoving the kunai through his skull right now!" Kiba said with a chuckle

"Shut the hell up Kiba! I for one think he's innocent" Sakura exclaimed

"How could he possibly be innocent Sakura? He's an S ranked criminal"

"I dunno maybe we got the wrong guy or something"

"psh, not likely!" Kiba said, sounding offended

"yeah, there's no way we'd ever get the wrong..." Naruto started but was interrupted by the approaching messenger

"Naruto sir, I have an urgent message for you from the hokage..." Naruto cut him off

"Aww c'mon Stop calling me sir all the time I mean all I did was save the entire village from eminent destruction. Heh heh" Naruto said cooly with his hands held behind his back

"Oh Naruto you're soo modest" Sakura said sarcastically

"Please sir this is importan..."

"Aww c'mon sakura can't you ever give me any credit?!"

"well maybe I would if you'd stop being such an idiot all the time"

"sir..."

"Well maybe I wouldn't be an idiot of you weren't always hitting me in the head!"

"SIR!"

"WHAT?" Naruto and sakura both screamed at once

"um.. Sorry about that. But the Hokage has instructed you to head for the tower, and escort Zakushi Uchiha to his new living quarters"

All 4 of them looked at the messenger with shocked expressions on their face

"Zakushi?!"

"Uchiha?!"

"Escort?!"

"Quarters?!"

After a lot of explaining, and more arguing Naruto was on his way to the hokage tower

"Man what the hell was grandma thinking letting this guy into our ranks. Ahh well he better not try anything with sakura... Those uchiha types are shifty"

Naruto arrived at the Hokage tower still in disbelief about the whole situation. Yet there he was leaning up against a tree with a smirk on his face

"It's About time you showed up mister savior of konoha"

'eghh what is with this guy!' Thought naruto as he approached him

"C'mon let's just get this over with"

"Very well"

They arrived at the apartment marked by the piece of paper the messenger had given naruto. It was a small beaten down building but it would have to do for now. Naruto let him inside and left without a word, he still didn't trust this guy.

'Home sweet home' Zakushi thought As he stared out his window and watched the sun set.

Just miles outside of Konoha stood None other than madara uchiha

"So Zakushi is finally making his move. It's about time that kid grew some"

"You know all about growing, don't you, Zetsu?" Madara chuckled

"heh heh I suppose I do. So when do you plan on telling Sasuke about him?"

"In due time Zetsu, in due time"

Back in Konoha Sakura was preparing for bed when she noticed a figure Sitting on a rooftop across the street. She grabbed her kunai and jumped out the window slyly hoping to catch him off guard.

She snuck around to the back of the building and climbed the roof quickly, dashing straight towards the figure and slipping her kunai around his neck

"What are you doing here Zakushi? Are you stalking me or something?"

All of the sudden there was a flash and he was standing behind her with a kunai to her throat

"How did you..."

"That's not important, What is important is that you should never let your guard down, even amongst allies. They can turn on you on a second"

Suddenly he was in front of her again which cause her to blush and look down

"how do you keep doing it... That disappearing thing?"

"Who knows" He chuckled and them vanished into thin air. Sakura could tell she was alone now, so she sat there, thinking about this mysterious boy.

A/N

Okay so I just couldn't stop writing, soo yay for three chapters in one day! :p This one is a bit longer than the rest. Please let me know what you think on a review! I have Big plans for this story :p


	4. The mission

"...And furthermore I have decided to add Zakushi as a temporary member of team 7 while sai is away on his mission". Tsunade said as she sat at her desk in the hokage tower, A warm breeze blew through the window making her long blonde locks flow in the wind. It would almost be pleasant if not for Naruto

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME GRANDMA" Naruto barked while shaking his fist violently

"Yesterday this guy was an S ranked criminal up for execution, and now you just expect us to accept him as a part of our team?!"

"Shut up!" Sakura shouted as she knocked him out cold with a swift punch to the face

"I mean honestly can't you ever stop talking for five seconds?"

"What are you talking about Sakura I was quiet for 15 seconds just now..."

Another punch and he was down again

Kakashi chuckled at the two young 'love birds' as he often considered them. He finally spoke up

"Anyyy ways, what was this about a mission lady Tsunade?"

"Yes I've been wondering the same thing" Zakushi said as he suddenly appeared out of thin air behind Sakura"

"You've gotta stop doing that! Can't you ever just use the door?!" Sakura said grimly

"I don't see the fun in..."

Naruto cut him off by springing to his feet and shouting

"YOU! Where do you get off sneaking up behind Sakura like that? I think its about time I taught you a less..."

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!" Tsunade screamed suddenly stopping Naruto in his tracks

"Hai!" they all shouted in unison. Except for Zakushi who just glared off into the distance nonchalantly

"Ahem. Now, your mission is to investigate a small town just a few miles outside of the village. There have been numerous reports of strange cloaked men attacking people, and we believe the Akatsuki may be involved."

Everyone became serious at the mention of the akatsuki

"Sasuke" Sakura murmered under her breath

"So then you believe these reports about Sasuke being in league with the Akatsuki than, sakura?" Kakashi said

"N-no! Of course not!" Sakura lied. The truth was that she knew he was, She knew he would do anything to achieve greater power.

Naruto's thoughts were similar, but a bit more optimistic. He believed he could bring Sasuke back. Even if it killed him.

"Very well then. Lady Tsunade we accept this mission, and will be leaving first thing tommorow morning" Kakashi explained

"Naruto, Sakura, Zakushi. I expect you to be packed and ready by the break of dawn"

Zakushi arrived back at his broken down apartment. he had only been given the basics since arriving in Konoha so he really didn't need to pack all that Much. Kunai, paper bombs, Shuriken, Some dried food and a Cantine of water were all he needed.

And then he just lied there alone with his thoughts

'The Akatsuki... After all this time I'll finally be able to avenge you mother. And ill be taking down that bastard of a father once and for all. He should have killed me that night, But he couldn't. Deep down inside he still wanted to cling to what little humanity he has left. And it was the last mistake he'll ever make'

He closed his eyes and nodded off into a deep slumber

Meanwhile Naruto was preparing his own things. Kunai, instant ramen, Paper bombs, More instant ramen, water, More instant ramen and and about 10 orange jumpsuits. Because wearing different clothes everyday was just too 'mainstream' for him

He finally finished packing and was left alone with his own thoughts

'Man who does this Zakushi jerk think he is? getting all close to sakura like that. Hmph Uchiha or not I could take him down any day. Still though he must have had a pretty rough life being abandoned by his father like that. And those eyes... No matter how much I try to ignore it, his eyes, they're just like Sasukes were... He seeks revenge' Naruto concluded

"Ahh well Grandma Tsunade trusts him and that's enough for me. Ill still be keeping my eyes on him though. Now where did I put that ramen..."

Sakura sat on her bed. Having already finished mission couldn't stop thinking about the events from the past few days

'What is the story with this Zakushi guy? The son of Madara Uchiha? He was supposed to have died years ago! And now all the sudden he's the leader of the Akatsuki? The world's gone mad I say.

She sighed and plopped down onto her bed, arms spread apart wide

'I miss when the world made sense. Back in the good old days when it was just me, Naruto and Sasuke going on missions. Sure Naruto was annoying as hell, but he always pulled through in the end. He still does. And Sasuke... Oh Sasuke, I know you could be mean to me and treat me like dirt, but you never really meant it did you? None of that matters anyway because through it all I still love you..."

About 10 miles outside of Konoha sat a lone cloaked figure perched upon a tree branch

Another cloaked figure landed beside him and began to speak in a low hoarse voice

"They've taken the bait, Naruto Uzumaki is on his way now, along with supposed Bastard son of Madara uchiha"

"Just as I expected. Besides the part about Madara's son.. Things could get very interesting." He chuckled as they leapt off into the darkness


	5. The past

Zakushi, Sakura and Naruto sat outside the gates of konoha Waiting for their late as always sensei

"Is he always like this?" Zakushi asked with an annoyed look on his face

"You have no idea" Sakura mumbled

"Hey guys" Kakashi said as he walked up slowly from the distance, he was clearly smirking under his mask.

"Ugh! Kakashi sensei what's the point of always telling us to get up so early when you always show up 2 hours late?" Naruto stated bluntly

"Always gotta keep them guessing naruto. That's what being a Ninja is all about"

"Eh whatever"

"So now that that's out of the way, are you all ready to head out? Remember this mission could be very dangerous if the akatsuki are involved"

"Hai!" they all replied

As they leapt through the treetops Kakashi slowed the pace A bit and looked over his shoulder at Zakushi

"So, Zakushi I think its time you told us your story yourself. Considering None of us were actually in the room during the council meeting."

"There isn't much to tell. My traitorous Bastard of a father had only been living in our village for a few months when him and my mother met. She fell in love with him instantly, but obviously it was all just a lie, he only wanted one thing, and when he got it he was out of her life as quickly as he had come into it. I don't think he was planning on her getting pregnant though, as soon as he found out he returned and murdered my mother, razing the entire village to the ground in his wake. Why he spared me is anyone's guess, but ever since that day I've been training nonstop with my Sharingan. And I know that one day I will avenge my mother and put him down once and for all"

Kakashi frowned

"I'm sorry to heat about what happened to your mother, but revenge is never the answer I've seen it destroy many great men, including my own student, a fellow member of the Uchiha clan"

"Spare me your stories, I didn't ask for them. I know all about Sasuke Uchiha, and what he seeks isn't justice. He doesn't care anything about who he destroys on his path to revenge, he's been completely consumed by it to the point where he has no life beyond his revenge" Zakushi said as he looked into the distance with a sad look in his eyes

"I believe that there's more to my life, That some day ill be able put it all behind me and live a peaceful life. Maybe raise a family and treat them the way my father should have treated me.. The way my mother did treat me. But I can't ever have any of that as long as my fathers shadow still looms over me. He must be destroyed, not only for my sake but for the sake of the entire world.. I'm nothing like that bastard Sasuke."

Kakashi looked at Zakushi with a surprised, yet hurt look on his face

"How do you know so much about Sasuke?.."

He was cut off as Sakura let out a guttural roar and charged toward Zakushi, fist raised high

"HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT SASUKE THAT WAY?!"

Just as her fist was about to connect with his cheek he reached up and grabbed it, Halting her instantly in midair

"I'm sorry if I offended you with my words. But if you think attacking me going to change anything you're sorely mistaken. And I'm not some punching bag you can throw around all the time like Naruto. I suggest you back away. Now."

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER!" Naruto screamed as he charged in, Rasengan in hand

Yet again, just as he almost connect Zakushi raised the palm of his hand and the Rasengan instantly dissolved into nothingness.

"b...but h-how did you?"

"Do you really think I would have so much confidence in defeating my Father if I couldn't stop a simple attack like that?"

"You Bastard.."

"Naruto, Sakura that's enough!" Kakashi said as he dragged them away from the Zakushi

"You may not agree with him but, But that's no reason to attack a Comrade"

"I will never consider him my comrade.." Naruto retorted

Kakashi sighed 'Why do I feel like this has all happened before?'

A few Hours later, just before sunset they finally arrived just outside the town

Kakashi stopped in a small clearing and brushed the dirt of his clothing

"We'll set up camp here for the night. Staying at the inn would draw too much attention to ourselves, tommorow we'll all find some civilian disguises and gather Intel individually. Now get some sleep you three, you're going to need sharp senses for the day ahead of us"

They all nodded in response

It was a mere few minutes before Kakashi and Naruto were fast asleep. But Sakura just layed there thinking about what had happened earlier that day

'I shouldn't have been so hard on him, he didn't say anything about Sasuke that wasn't true.. I just don't want to believe it I guess. Still I feel terrible about what happened with his mother, I can't imagine what that must have been like for him.. I should apologize"

She got up and began walking towards the tree he was leaned up against, clearly still awake.

"Zakushi I.." she was cut off by the sound of his voice

"Sakura I'm sorry about what I said earlier, I know he meant a lot to the two of you. I have no room to speak."

Sakura was stunned at his sudden outburst

"YOU'RE apologizing ME?" she said dumbfounded

"if anything I should be the one apologizing, I mean I did try to punch you in the face and everything"

He chuckled "That's true but I probably deserved it. When I start thinking about my mother I guess I just get bitter. I'm truly sorry about what I said. You may have forgiven me but somehow I doubt Naruto will feel the same"

"I wouldn't about that. Naruto may be an idiot but he knows you aren't a bad person. Trust me he'll come around eventually, he always does"

"well that's good" he chuckled

"By the way Zakushi What did you mean that night we first met when you said that the real question was how long you had been 16?"

"well I..."

"Get to sleep you two!" Kakashi shouted Clearly having been awoken by their converstaion

"H-hai Kakashi sensei"

"Goodnight, Zakushi" She said with a smile

"Goodnight Sakura"

Anddd that concludes chapter 5. Hope you guys enjoyed it! And please review!


	6. Contact

Sorry it took me so long to update. Had a really busy weekend. But anyways here's chapter 6!

Zakushi walked through the crowd. Silently scanning for any signs of suspicious activity.

He remembered what Kakashi had told them that morning

*Flashback*

"Now remember none of these attackers have been identified, we know nothing other than the fact that they were seen wearing dark cloaks with strange symbols on them"

"And what have they been doing? What the hell did grandma Tsunade send us out here for if that's all we've got on them!" Naruto replied with an annoyed tone

"I was getting to that Naruto. Their attacks have been completely erratic. A few random street vendors, a man out for a walk in the middle of the night, an old married couple minding their own business. All dead. And never any Marks on the body's, it's almost as if they're trying to draw us in"

"So you think its a trap then?" Sakura replied confused

"It's a probability yes. Which is why we can't Let them know we're here"

*End flashback*

He knew Kakashi had a point, but he felt ridiculous on his civilian get up. He was clad in blue overalls with nothing underneath, and a straw hat to top it off. Being in a small fishing town right next to the ocean made him fit in perfectly. But it didn't make him feel any less ridiculous straying from his usual black cloak

"Nothing suspicious here" Zakushi said as he pressed his hand against the radio hidden in his hat

"Nothing here either" Sakura responded

"Same goes for m..." Naruto trailed off as he saw a crowd of people start running away screaming in front of him

Kakashi chimed in on the noises

"Naruto what's happening?!"

Naruto didn't have time to respond as he was knocked to the ground by the screaming mob, his earpiece being knocked to the ground and trampled in the process. As they finally passed he pulled his self to his feet and he could finally visualize what was happening, A man clad in a simple black cloak stood over a cowering woman, sword in hand just about to bring it down upon her

Naruto leapt into action, pulling out a kunai and stopping the mans sword in it's tracks, he jumped back about 10 feet, sword still drawn

"Where do you get off attacking innocent women you coward?!"

"Oh I'm not the one he was after" The woman said slyly as she slipped a kunai around his neck

"What the..."

"Oh come on don't act all surprised, Are you really that naïve that you think all women are defenseless cowards? You know I really don't appreciate men like you" She said in a seductive, yet chilling voice

"Who are you people? Are you with the akatsuki?"

The man finally spoke up "oh no, nothing like that. You see we only wore these cloaks because we knew they would draw you Konoha fools in. And who better to send than everyones little hero Naruto Uzumaki"

"You still didn't answer my other question... Who the hell are you people?!" and what do you want with me"

"Aww how rude of us. You see we're nothing but simple bounty hunters, I'm Ouri, and this is my brother Keezuru. And there are a lot of people who would pay good money for your Cute little head now that you've taken down the leader of the akatsuki" Ouri replied

"So you did all of this.. Killed all of those people.. Just because of me?"

"Well I guess when you put it that way its like you killed those people" Keezuru said with a chuckle

"The only ones I'm going to kill... ARE YOU TWO!"

Naruto screamed as his eyes became blood red slits and he sent Ouri flying off his back and began charging towards Keezuru

"So that's how we're gonna play it" Keezuru was gone in a flash of blinding speed, appearing beside naruto and slicing a cut across his side

Naruto winced in pain and fell to the ground as his eyes returned to normal 'Wh... What the hell? Was that genjutsu? I felt like I was moving so slowly, and then all of the sudden this huge cut appeared on my side' Naruto thought confused as he held onto his side to slow the bleeding

"Well he sure didn't last long against your genjutsu. Man Keezuru you bastard I wanted a swing at him!" Ouri said sarcastically

"Shut up Ouri. Let's just get him out of here before his reinforcements arrive.."

"Oh, you mean me?" Zakushi said as he appeared out of nowhere and punched keezuru in the gut, sending him crashing into a wall behind him

"Your genjutsu won't work on me, so don't even try it."

Keezuru quickly got back on his feet "ergh, You bastard! Who the hell are you supposed to be?"

"I'm naruto's... Comrade. You can call me Zakushi, Zakushi Uchiha"

Kakashi and Sakura finally turned a corner and found them there, Naruto on the ground bleeding and Zakushi Sending the strange man into a wall. They ran up to Naruto with caution, still keeping an eye on the enemy

"Sakura, you take care of Naruto. Me and Zakushi can handle these guys"

Just as sakura was about to began healing Naruto his hand reach up and grabbed hers

"Don't worry about me Sakura its just a scrape, Besides I still have some unfinished business to take care of"

"Multi shadow clone jutsu!". Naruto screamed as dozens of exact replicas of himself poofed into existence

They all began running towards both keezuru and ouri when suddenly both of them vanished into thin air and appeared behind his clones, slicing them all out of existence immediately with their swords

"But.. How did you..." Naruto was cut off mid sentence as ouri appeared in front of him and thrust her sword straight towards his heart, Just before it could hit its mark Zakushi grabbed her hand and sent her sword crashing to the ground. She jumped back to where keezuru was standing

"Naruto back off! Their Genjutsu is blocking off all your senses right until the minute they strike. It's impossible to fight these guys without my sharingan"

"b.." Naruto tryed to argue but Kakashi cut in

"Naruto he's right, let me and Zakushi handle these two, besides you're injured. Despite what you say that's more than just a scratch, let Sakura heal you"

"Hai Kakashi sensei". Naruto replied dejectedly

"Heh. As if we're going to allow that". OKeezuru cut in "We're going to leave here with that boys head on a silver platter whether you like it or not. Now stand aside or we'll be forced to kill you too..."

"You sure can talk. But can fight without those cheap tricks of yours". Kakashi replied as he pulled down his mask revealing his sharingan. "You ready Zakushi?"

"Hai!" he shouted as they both charged into battle

Soo there you go... This is the first action scene I've ever really written so sorry if it's choppy at parts. But If you like it there's lots more to come in the next chapter! Thanks for reading! And for reviewing to those of you who have, and to those who haven't please so! I need to know what I'm doing right or wrong guys :p


	7. A team at last

Just as they were about to begin their battle ouri jumped onto a nearby rooftop and began Leaping away

"Zakushi, you go after her. I can handle this one on my own" Kakashi said with a spark in his eyes that was rarely seen

"Hai" Zakushi said as he leapt onto the rooftops after her

"C'mon Kakashi sensei let me help you I'm fine!" Naruto pouted as he lay on the ground while Sakura healed him

"I'm more than capable of taking care of this guy on my own Naruto, now please stop moving so Sakura can heal you"

"No way Kakashi sensei! I'm not letting you guys have all the fun!" Naruto shouted as he jumped to his feet, startling Sakura and opening his wound back up. Blood began staining up his jacket

"Ugh you idiot!" Sakura shouted as her fist flew toward his face in a punch that was sure to keep him unconscious for the next few hours

"Please, continue on your way Kakashi sensei" Sakura said as she ripped narutos jacket off and began healing him once again

"Thank you Sakura. Now, Shall we begin then?"

Kakashi ran towards Keezuru, Kunai in hand making a stab for his heart; which, of course was deflected by Keezurus sword. They both jumped back about 5 yards eyeing eachother up and down

"Ahh so you must be Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan. I've heard so many good things about you, and I've gotta say... I'm not impressed!"

"Well we'll just see about that! Lightning blade!"

Kakashi's right hand instantly sparked to life with hundreds of small crackling bolts of blue electricity. He charged toward Keezuru, ready to end the fight before it had even begun

"Not so fast!" Keezuru shouted as he began making hand signs "Earth style: Mudslide barrier!"

Keezuru began spewing mud from his mouth, which rose up into a large barrier at least 20 feet in diameter

"That's... The 3rds jutsu.." Kakashi thought just as his Lightning blade clashed with the thick wall of mud. His hand made it about halfway through and the sparks Disappeared from his fingertips. He was stuck.

Meanwhile Zakushi Continued chasing Ouri across the rooftops. It was obvious she was leading him out of town, But why?

Finally she landed on the opposite side of a clearing in the trees just outside of town. Zakushi walked right into the middle. It was a trap

Hundreds of paper bombs began Flying from the trees connecting to his body, Almost as if magnetically. Ouri stood upon a tree branch chuckling. She knew this fight was over

She put he hands together to form a sign and shouted "ITS OVER"

All of the bombs went off one by one, each one less than a millisecond after the last, each one adding on to the already enormous explosion. This was overkill, she knew it. In fact she reveled in it. Ever since she was a kid she had always enjoyed the pain of others, and she knew it was sick but she didn't care this was her thing. The only person she really ever cared about was Keezuru, and they were perfect for eachother, he did it for the money and she did it for her own enjoyment.

She sat there continuing to laugh, truly satisfied with what she had just done, this was an Uchiha, a user of the Sharingan. Quite possible her greatest kill yet. She was just about to let out a shout of joy. That was until she felt the cold embrace of a kunai against her throat

"Did you really thing I would fall for such an obvious trap?"

That was when she noticed it, the single charred log at the bottom of the huge crater her explosion has created. He had used the substitution technique. And she was too wrapped up in her sick joy to even sense him approaching her from behind. This was the end. She felt the coolness of the knife slide across her throat as she let out one last chuckle. And then everything went black

Kakashi continued to struggle against the mud wall. No matter how hard he pulled he couldn't manage to free his hand, and he could sense Keezuru approaching him from behind

"Nowhere to run now Kakashi" Keezuru chuckled as he drew his sword and stabbed it straight into his back. He poofed out of existence like he was never there in the first place

"A shadow clone?!" Just then an electrified hand protruded from his stomach

"A shadow clone indeed" Kakashi replied

"its kind of like my mud Clone, eh?" Keezuru stated wryly as his other body evaporated into mud around Kakashi's hand. Keezuru punched Kakashi in the back of the head sending him flying forward 10 yards, he stopped flying as soon as his body turned into a log...

Sakura sat on the sidelines watching the fight with boredom "Okay we get it you guys are good at substitutions! Could you wrap this up please?!"

"I was just about to Sakura" Kakashi replied

"Oh you were?" Keezuru said with a smirk on his face as he drew his sword and pointed it at Kakashi "We'll just see about that then"

Kunai and Sword clashed again in a never ending Struggle to gain the upper hand, it was obvious this was getting nowhere so Keezuru jumped back and began making hand signs "Earth style: Fissures!"

Dozens of small cracks formed in the ground beneath his feet, quickly leading towards Kakashi and surrounding him. All of the cracks opened at once and Kakashi found himself in a freefall. The entire earth had split apart beneath his feet and he was falling god know how deep. He had to act fast. He began jumping up on falling pieces of earth, slowly but surely working himself back the top. That is until the holes began closing up. He could see the final rays of light disappearing above him.

"Kakashi sensei no!" Sakura cryed out

Keezuru stood on the surface chuckling as he watched the final hole close up "That should do it. I guess the great Kakashi Hatake wasn't so great after all, and now for the boy"

"I won't let you lay a finger on Naruto!" Sakura stood to her feet raising her fists ready to avenge her fallen sensei. But she never got the chance

Keezuru was suddenly pulled down into the ground so that only his head was visible. Kakashi emerged with a smirk on his face "Headhunter jutsu" He stated calmly

"You really think you can trap an earth style user in the earth!? Re emergence jutsu!" He shouted as a single pillar of earth rocketed from the ground with him standing on it. He leapt off and stood about 20 yards away from Kakashi.

"hmph I have to admit I thought I had you that time. Maybe you aren't so bad after all. But I'm going to end this right now!"

"I couldn't agree more.. It is time to end this" Kakashi replied as his hand crackled to life with electricity once again.

"Oh please not that again. Earth style: Mudslide barrier!"

Again he spewed mud from his mouth forming into a larger wall, yet Kakashi continued running forward, stabbing his Lightning blade into the wall as it let off more sparks than ever before. He dove straight through it and his lightning blade hit its mark. His arm protruded from Keezuru's back, and his last thought was that he never had a chance to tell Ouri that he loved her.

"It's finally over" Kakashi mumbled "I wonder how Zakushi is fairing"

"Oh I finished my fight a long time ago" Zakushi shouted as he leapt from the building he had been spectating from

"Ill never understand that 'appear out of nowhere' thing you do Zakushi" Kakashi said while scratching his head

"Anyways how is Naruto doing?"

"He should be just fine. My healing abilities along with his own healing abilities from the kyuubi made things pretty easy" Sakura replied with a smiled

"Kyuubi...?" Zakushi said confused

"Ahh, well I suppose you haven't been informed yet, but seeing as how you're teammates now I guess you should know.. Naruto is the Jinchuriki of the 9 tailed fox"

"Hmm.. Well I guess that would explain why the Akatsuki are after him" Zakushi replied un phased

"Somehow I expected a.. Less controlled response from you Zakushi" Kakashi said confused

"yeah I mean it's not every day you learn your Comrade has a demon inside of him" Sakura added

"Nonetheless I've always respected Jinchuriki. They carry such a heavy burden, and yet Naruto doesn't seem phased by it at all" Zakushi explained

'I think I had the wrong impression of this guy.. I feel like there's so much more to him than he let's off' Sakuras thoughts were cut off by Kakashi

"Well guys I think we can call this mission complete, these people were just bounty hunter, I don't believe they were working for the Akatsuki"

"Yeah. But it's still hard to believe people like this are after Naruto now, I don't think ill ever see him as that stupid little kid anymore. He's almost kind of.." Sakura caught herself thinking out loud. She had to act fast before any suspicions were raised "An idiot! He's kind of an idiot!"

"Sure... Well we should probably find an inn to stay at for the night, its getting late" said Kakashi

"Hai" they both replyed

A few hours Later Naruto awoke in his hotel room "Sakura what the hell!" He looked to his right only to realize he was laying in a bed with Kakashi, whom he had just rudelou awoke

"Ahh! Kakashi sensei what the hell are we doing in this bed together? Where are those weirdos in the robes? Why did Sakura punch me in the face!?"

"Calm down Naruto.. Me and Zakushi took care of those bounty hunters, and we're in the same bed because This was the only room they had left" Kakashi replied tiredly

"Yeah and I punched you because you wouldn't shut up and be still you idiot!" Sakura added

"That doesn't give you any right to knock me unconscious! And where the hell is Zakushi anyways?"

"Hmm. That's a good question, he was asleep on the floor earlier"

Zakushi lied on the roof of the hotel, staring up at the stars and thinking of that days events

He sighed 'I wish that ouri girl wasn't so weak, I need an opportunity to test out my abilities on a real opponent.. Ahh well I'm sure these Akatsuki must be pretty tough for my Father to have recruited them' His thoughts were cut off as Naruto approached him

"What the hell are you doing up here alone? Nothing weird I hope"

"I was just... Thinking" He replied "Hey Naruto I was thinking and.. I'm sorry, about what I said about Sasuke the other day, I hadn't realized how much he meant to you two. And from here on I solemnly swear that as your new teammate i'll do everything I can to help you bring him back"

"Heh.. Don't worry about it. And thanks.. I think I was wrong about you Zakushi" Naruto replied, truly dumbfounded at Zakushis words

"Well we should probably go inside and get some rest, we have a long way to travel tommorow, besides I'm sure Sakura is worried about you"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Naruto shouted. Face as red as a tomato

"oh nothing.."

And with that they went inside and fell asleep, not knowing what would await them in the coming months

A/N. Alright guys so this is the first fight scene I've ever written.. EVER so I'm sorry if it was confusing or if it just sucked.. But let me know in a review guys! I really wanna know how I did, be it good or bad so I can improve upon it next time.


	8. Feelings

They arrived at the gates of Konoha around noon. And of course considering noon usually meant lunch time a certain someone's stomach was growling like a rabid Tigon

"Ughhh Kakashi Senseeiii do we have to report in to Grandma Tsunade now? I haven't eaten a real meal in days, I could die!" Naruto complained whilst rubbing his stomach

"Oh please Naruto you nearly murdered that poor old man in line at the continental breakfast this morning" Sakura replied

"Its not my fault he was slow! Besides what's the point in eating so much when you're that old? He's gonna die soon anyway, and I'm a growing boy!"

"Yeah growing wide maybe.." Sakura mumbled under her breath. She would never admit it but she loved this constant bickering they always did, everything had been so crazy lately. Pein nearly destroying the entire village and everyone in it.

Talking to Naruto this way reminded her of a much simpler time. Back when it was just the three of them. Her, Sasuke and Naruto going on missions. He comforted her in a way she would have never imagined when she was younger. She had been thinking about him a lot lately, How he's grown both I'm body and in mind. And she had also began to notice how hot he had become...

She stopped herself right there 'AM I FREAKING INSANE? Naruto? Hot? How could I think something like that?! He's my teammate and my friend.. Hell, probably my best friend. but I've never thought of him as anything but that.. Right?'

Naruto was thinking about sakura too. How far she had progressed from that headstrong, love crazed little girl into the smart, beautiful and extremely strong.. Sometimes freakishly strong young woman she was now

He sighed 'She'll never think of me in the same way though, she makes it painfully obvious that I annoy her all the time. Maybe I should just settle for Hinata... She's pretty right?'

He sighed again 'no, there's no way ill ever love anyone else besides Sakura-Chan..'

'I wonder when those two are gonna realize they've been walking into the same wall for the last 5 minutes' Zakushi thought with sigh

Sakura suddenly snapped back to reality and found her face up against a wall. she quickly jumped back and stood next to Zakushi and Kakashi again.

"heh sorry I'm just.. Really tired. The beds at that hotel were rock hard I barely got any sleep at all" Sakura said while blushing madly

"That's funny, I guess it was just the invisible man beside you that was snoring all night" Zakushi replied with a smirk

A swift punch to the jaw wiped that smirk right off his face

Zakushi lied on the ground rubbing his jaw "What the hell Sakura? I thought you only did that to Naruto?"

"No, I only do it to idiots. And it seems to me like you fit that category right now.."

"Knock it off you guys we need to get to Lady Tsunade so I can go home and rest, away from you three clowns"

"Whatever" they both replied with a huff

"Heh heh sakura..."

They all turned around to see that Naruto was now making out with a sign post

"NARUTO YOU IDIOT!" Sakura screamed as she let out a right hook that sent him flying into a wall

"What the.." Were the only words Zakushi could muster

"he uh... Gets weird when he's hungry" Kakashi replied embarassed

"Right..." let's get moving

And again they began making their way towards the newly rebuilt Hokage tower

"hey wait for me!" Naruto shouted as he ran after them

After a bit more bickering and a few more faces being punched they finally arrived and were all standing in front of Tsunade now

"Ahh welcome back you 4. I trust everything went well, what of the Akatsuki?"

"Fortunately there were no signs of the Akatsuki, however there were some rogue bounty hunters who were after Naruto, but don't worry me and Zakushi dealt with them swiftly"

"Hmm very well, though it does concern me that people like this are after Naruto. Word of Naruto saving our village has spread fast, it's likely to bring us many new enemies" Tsunade said with a sigh

"But I guess the important thing now is that you're all safe. You should all go rest now"

"Hai, lady Tsunade" Kakashi replied

And with that they all departed from the Hokage tower and stood outside the entrance

"well guys I'm off to see Ank-oooh look at the time! I always take a nap around this time right after missions heh heh.." And with that he was gone in a puff of smoke

"I think I've had just about all I can take, I'm off to ichirakus before my stomach eats itself. You guys wanna come?"

"No thanks Naruto I think ill probably just go home and get some rest" Sakura replied

"and I'm not really a fan of ramen so I think ill pass" Zakushi added

"Ahh well your loss!" Naruto ran off I'm the direction of ichirakus

"Ill never understand where he gets all of his energy" Sakura said with a chuckle

"Oh hey Zakushi you're new around town you probably don't even know where anything is do you? I know! How about I show you around town? Get you acquainted with your new home?"

"oh no I'm sure I can manage.." Sakura cut him off

"nonsense! C'mon let's go" She drug him off towards some buildings

'Ugh troublesome women, what a drag' Zakushi thought to himself

Shikamaru sneezed somewhere off in the distance

As Sakura drug him through the streets she saw a certain scantily clad blonde kunoichi approaching her "Sakura! Its been forever, ooh is this your new team mate? He's cute! Is it true that he's an Uchiha?"

"uhh.." Zakushi scratched his head

"slow down there ino" Sakura said with a chuckle "This is our new team member Zakushi"

"Nice to meet you! So what are the two of you doing alone anyways?" Ino replied

"I was just showing him around town, I mean obviously he's new and he doesn't know where anything is. I thought we might grab a bite to eat"

"Not in that you aren't!" Ino said motioning to Zakushis clothing "what is that you're wearing anyway? Some kind of weird ripped robe? I don't think so! I know this great mens clothing store just a few blocks down"

"Uhh okay"

And with that Zakushi found himself being drug down the street by two equally over enthusiastic women

After 5 painful hours of shopping They had finally come to an agreement on Zakushis new outfit, "they" of course meaning Sakura and Ino. Apparently Zakushi had no say in the matter

Since they spent the majority of their time shopping for themselves, and they were tired and getting hungry, also since Zakushi barely had any money they decided to settle on some olive cargo pants and a simple black short sleeved T-shirt with the Konoha insignia on it

"So how do you like your new outfit Zakushi?" Ino said squealing with excitement

"Err.. Its okay I guess. Not quite as breezy as the last one" Zakushi replied while scratching his head

"Eh you'll get used to it. Now c'mon guys let's get something to eat I'm starving" Sakura said as her stomach growled

"Okay, I know this great sushi place right down the street!" Ino replied

Just then they walked past ichraku, and there Naruto was passed out on the counter surrounded by dozens of empty ramen bowls

Sakura sighed "Ugh that idiot. We can't just leave him there"

"You guys go on ahead, ill take him home" Zakushi replied

"Are you sure Zakushi? I could always go with you..." Ino said with a wink

Zakushis face flushed slightly "Heh ill be fine.. I'm not really hungry anyway, but you guys go on ahead before Sakuras stomach eats itself"

"Ugh fine. C'mon Sakura" Ino said dejectedly. She grabbed Sakura by the arm and pulled her towards the Sushi restaurant.

Zakushi grabbed the unconscious Naruto, slung him over his shoulder and began heading towards his home

Meanwhile Sakura and Ino had taken their seats at the restaurant and had just finished scanning their menus when the waitress approached

"Hello! What can I get for you two today?"

"Uhh ill have the california roll and some water" Sakura replied with a smile

"Ill have the same as her" Ino added

"alright, ill have that out for you shortly" the waitress nodded and walked away

"say.. What's California anyways?" Ino asked while putting her finger up to her chin

"I dunno.. Some kind of Fish I guess" Sakura replied

"Oh.. Well what do you think of Zakushi, he's pretty cute right?" Ino said getting a little flushed

"I guess so" Sakura said looking down, trying to avoid contact

"You like him don't you! Geez Sakura can't we ever have a crush on different guys.."

"No its not that, I was just.. Thinking of something else, that's all"

Meanwhile Zakushi had just arrived at Narutos appointment, he sat him down on the floor and he still lied there asleep with a smile on his face

"Heh heh no Sakura I can't eat anymore.. C'mon stop feeding me ramen"

Zakushi smacked his head "Wake up you idiot you're home"

"5 more minutes..."

A swift smack to the face and Naruto was on his feet

"Who wha..? This isn't ichirakus! What the hell are you doing here Zakushi?"

"You passed out eating ramen.. I carried you home so you didn't make a scene"

"Man I've gotta stop doing that.."

"Well anyways I'm headed home. Try to make sure your Sakura dreams don't get TOO naughty, okay?" Zakushi said with a smirk

"Yeah sure whatever..." Naruto realized what Zakushi just said and his face turned bright red "Heh.. I tend to talk I'm my sleep after eating lots of ramen.. You won't mention this to Sakura right?"

"Of course not.. But she likes you too ya know" And with that Zakushi was gone in a puff of smoke

'Wh... What did he mean by that..? He was with Sakura all day, maybe she said something to him? No.. I'm kidding myself, Zakushi was just messing with me, Sakura still loves Sasuke... Right?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X

"Ooh so does that mean there's someone else you're interested in Sakura? Is it kiba? Neji?"

"No.. Kiba is way too overconfident and the whole dog thing just kind of weirds my out. And Neji always talks like he has a stick up his ass or something" Sakura replied disgusted

"Hmm. Well who is it then Sakura?! Don't leave me hanging here" Ino replied annoyed

"it's.. Not important.. I'm not even sure if I like him or not"

"No... Sakura please don't tell me it's him.. Not Naruto?!" ino said as a look of pure horror spread across her face

"So what if it is! What's so bad about Naruto?!" Sakura replied defensively

"Naruto..? I was talking about lee. Thank goodness"

"Wait.. So you don't think its weird that I like.. That I might like Naruto?"

"Of course not Sakura! Half the girls in the village like him since he saved all of us.. Not to mention how handsome he's become lately. Hell if he wasn't such an idiot I might go for himself

"Yeah he's an idiot alright" she replied with a smirk on her face "but he's my idiot.." she said under her breath

"What was that Sakura?" Ino replied with a smirk

"Oh nothing.. Hey look our foods here!"

Sakura and Ino sat there and ate in silence. Sakura thinking about naruto and ino thinking about Zakushi. they finally finished and payed their tabs and departed from the restaurant

"hey thanks for hanging out with me today Sakura it was fun. Things have been so crazy lately its nice to have fun for a change" Ino said with a smile

"No problem. I had fun too" Sakura replied, returning her smile "But if you say anything about me liking Naruto I will murder you"

"sure thing. As long as you let Zakushi know I'm available" Ino said with a wink

And with that they both went him, and they all lied wide awake in bed that night

Sakura thinking about Naruto

Naruto thinking about Sakura

Ino thinking about Zakushi

Zakushi thinking about how troublesome women are

And Shikamaru wondering if he would ever stop sneezing

A/N Okay just to clear things up because I had someone messaging me earlier asking me. This story takes place after Naruto defeats pein and saves the village, however Tsunade never had her coma, the five kage summit never happened and the war doesn't exist. You see I started this story quite some time ago but I didn't know about this site, so just think of this as a "what if" story right after Naruto defeated pein. Anyways thanks foe reading and please review! Oh and as for the tigon reference.. Well... Tigons are cool.


	9. Preparations

Well my phone broke so I couldn't work on this chapter for a few days, But I think from now on I'm just going to try and get a new chapter out once a week. So you can be looking for new chapters on Fridays! All that aside thanks to everyone who reviewed and please do enjoy chapter 9!

Two weeks had passed since the night when Sakura began to realize her true feelings for Naruto, Over that time they had progressed into full-blown love, or at least that's what she thought.

She was finally beginning to realize that Naruto was really the only one who was Ever there for her, he was always there cheering her on, encouraging her to better herself. She realized that he was what really drove her to train so hard after he had left for training with Jiraiya, To be honest she was jealous of him. Of course Sasuke was strong, he was an Uchiha everyone saw that coming.

But Naruto was different, he was always looked down upon and she never understood why, but over the years she just began to naturally resent him. But that all changed when they met Zabuza, For the first time she could see what an intelligent and strong Shinobi he was becoming. Yet still her judgment was clouded by what she thought Naruto was.

But after proving himself over and over again, finally she began thinking of him as a friend, and eventually she realized he was her best friend. And then when she saw him standing there surrounded by cheering villagers after he defeated pain, something just changed, he may have been a little worse for wear from the battle but that didn't matter to her. At that moment she saw him as a heroic knight in shining armor.

Originally her only intention was to punch him, that was how she always resolved her feelings, but after that she just couldn't help but hug him. And for that brief moment a vision flashed through Sakuras mind.

She saw her and naruto standing on a hilltop staring out towards the sunset, he had one arm around his shoulder, and she one around his. But what what really caught her attention was where her other hand was.. A large bulge on her belly.

She immediately opened her eyes and let go of Naruto. At the time she thought what she had seen was insane. She would end up with sasuke, not Naruto.. Right?

And now she lied there in her bed realizing how foolish that was. She looked at her clock and realized that it was already 9:00 am. She jumped out of her bed and dressed in her usual outfit. She looked at herself in the mirror as she finished tying her hair Bow in and smiled

Today was the day she would finally tell Naruto how she felt.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 

The last 2 weeks had an opposite effect in Naruto. He had fully convinced himself that Sakura would never return his feelings. He had taken a deep dive into just friends lagoon and he was never getting out.

He sighed as he finally dragged himself out of bed. He had to get away for a while, take some time to sort out His feelings, and maybe even get over Sakura. He could never do that if he Was around her all the time.

He dressed in his orange jumpsuit and set off for Tsunades office

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 

Zakushi dropped to the ground in exhaustion, he had been up training nonstop since 5:00 am. He gazed around at all the carnage. Trees were down everywhere, there were huge craters in the ground all around him.

"Will I ever perfect this Jutsu?" he asked himself just before passing out

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 

Naruto approached the doors to Tsunades office, taking a deep breath he pushed the doors opened and stepped inside.

"Ahh, Naruto its nice to see you. What brings you here today?"

"Baa-Chan I... I want a mission, preferably a long one. And I want to do it alone.."

Tsunade looked at him

And he looked at her

And she looked at him

And then she broke out into laughter "You really had me going there For a minute Naruto. And what reason would I have to send you off on your own? With the Akatsuki hunting you, and now this new development with the bounty hunters. No doubt there will be more of them"

"I know that.. But I'm going to leave whether or not you Want me to. I'd just rather have your blessing"

Her expression became very serious all of the sudden

"N..naruto why would you want to leave the village so badly? Especially now, everyone loves you Naruto! All the children look up to you, what would they think if you left for no reason?"

"That's why I'm here. You can tell everyone I'm on an important mission in the land of the waves" Naruto replied pleadingly

"The land of the waves?" tsunade replied confused

"Yes.. That's where it all started, with team 7 I mean. And its no secret how bad things have gotten there, I can help them! And I'm sure Tazuna would take me in

"

"Ahh, so this is about Sasuke then?"

"It's not just him.." Naruto stopped himself. He couldn't have Anyone knowing how he felt about Sakura. "Uhh.. I'm also having post traumatic stress you see, from that fight with pain and All.. Heh heh."

"Post traumatic stress, eh? Don't try to sell me that garbage Naruto I've known how you feel about Sakura for some time now.. Hell half the village knows"

Naruto was shocked. He thought he had been very discreet With it over the years, apparently he was wrong

"But I know that look in your eyes naruto.. You're going no matter what, and nobody can stop, either by force or any other methods. You have my blessing.. Ill cover for you. But please talk to Sakura before you leave.. You may be surprised."

"now who's the garbage salesman? We both know that Sakura will never feel the same way. But thank you Baa-Chan I promise I won't be gone too long" And with that Naruto leapt out the window and jumped across the buildings leading to his home. He had preparations to make.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sakura had Spent 10 minutes knocking on Naruto's door and finally came to the conclusion that he wasn't home. She left his apartment building and headed towards the only other place she could think of: Ichirakus

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 

Naruto finally arrived at his apartment and noticed strange indents in his door. But that didn't matter, he had to hurry, he packed everything he would need into his backpack and rushed out, Heading for the village gates

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Uhh no we haven't seen Naruto in a few days, right Ayame?" He said nervously, luckily Sakura believed him

"Oh, alright I guess ill go ask lady Tsunade"

"You have a nice day now!" They both said Smiling as she walked away. When she was finally out of sight they both let out a sigh of relief "Phew that was close"

The truth was Naruto had stopped by the night before and told them everything, about Sakura, and his intentions to leave the village. But he swore them both to secrecy. And considering he was their best customer they had to honor that promise.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 

Naruto reached the gates and the guards allowed him to pass through. He thought he was finally home free, and that's when he saw Zakushi approaching, His new clothes torn to bits

"What the hell happened to you..?" Naruto questioned, slightly concerned for his new comrade

"Just some intense training.. Nevermind that where are you headed off to in such a hurry?" Zakushi replied

"I'm going on an important mission in the waves. Tsunade said I needed to go alone because..." Zakuzhi cut him off

"You're lying... Tell me what's really going on here Naruto. You can trust me, I'm not much of a gossiper anyways"

"ugh.. Fine" Naruto sighed at the thought of having to talk to someone about his feelings. But somehow he trusted Zakushi. He could see the sincerity in his eyes, despite any past conflict Naruto was beginning to respect and trust him. And so He Told Zakushi everything. About Sakura, and Sasuke and his real intentions in the wave

Zakushi knew he was wrong, he knew Sakura had feelings for Naruto, but He could also see that Naruto couldn't be swayed in his intentions right now, so he would let him go

"Very well Naruto.. I see there's nothing I could say to change your mind. All I can do is wish you luck in your journey, I hope you find everything you're looking for"

Naruto looked at him with a blank expression. He was genuinely surprised at Zakushi's reply "Thanks Zakushi.." he said with a smile. And with that he was off and running in the direction of the wave.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 

And there Sakura stood in Tsunades office, having just received the news about Naruto leaving. Her face was stricken with horror as she dropped to her knees and whispered "He's gone"

A/N don't kill me! Please don't Kill me! I had to Separate naruto and Sakura for this next arc of a story but don't worry, love always wins out in the end right? Guess You'll have to stick around and find out :p.

But anyways, as always thanks for reading and please review!


	10. Savior

Hey guys, sorry this update took me so long I've just had a lot going on lately but I'm back now and you can expect an update at least once a week, so without further ado let's get back to our story finally.

It had been 3 weeks since Naruto left,  
Sakura pleaded with Tsunade to tell her where Naruto was going but the Woman insisted that Naruto needed to be alone.  
After hours of rejection at the hands of the Hokage Sakura finally gave up and went home.

'Why did he have to leave now of all times? Today was the day I would finally tell him how i feel.. the day we would finally be together. I guess I had this coming, I don't deserve Naruto after all i've put him through, hell at this point he probably doesn't even have feelings for me anymore'

Sakura shoved her face into her pillow, all of this thinking was just making things worse, eventually she cried herself to sleep thinking about Naruto.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXX

Zakushi sat down at the Ichirakus, he had come to love the place over the last few months and had gotten in the habit of visiting almost every day.

"I'll have the usual" he said as he began subconsciously twiddling with the chopsticks in his hands. Just then Ino conveniently happened to walk by, the same way she did every other day. She put on her "Surprised" face as she walked up to the bar.

"Oh hey Zakushi! I didn't expect to see you here" she said with a wink

"Uh huh..." Zakushi said nonchalantly as he began shoving noodles down his throat

"Aww c'mon Zakushi when are you going to stop acting so cold" Ino said with a whimper

"As soon as you stop acting so annoying" he huffed

"Fine! I'll just leave you alone with your stupid noodles" Ino retorted as she stomped away fuming

"Geez women" Said Zakushi under his breath as he started scoffing down more noodles.

In reality Zakushi didn't mind ino's constant attempts at flattery, in fact he may have even liked her, but there was just something inside him that told him he had to be an asshole to women, maybe it was just in his Uchiha blood.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXX

Naruto finally arrived in the Land of the Waves by boat, only to find utter despair, criminals ran the streets, businesses were closed people cowered in their homes, too afraid to leave. This was even worse than before, sure Gato was a horrible man. But at least then he had something he knew he wanted, there was order. But all that was out the window now, there was no leader here, the place had become a cesspool of crime without reason or organization, he had to put a stop to this.

He stepped up to the Run down old shack that used to be Tazunas house and knocked on the door for several minutes before he finally walked in, he heard a shout from further inside

"Go away! You've already taken everything we have what more could you possibly want?"

"Tazuna...?" Naruto asked questioningly

"N.. Naruto is that you?" Inari said as he rushed out and wrapped his arms around Naruto "I knew it.. I told them you would come but they didn't believe me"

Tazuna stepped out of the back room along with Tsunami, they both had unbelieving looks in their eyes "It really is you" tsunami said with a spark in her eye that had seemed to have disappeared altogether lately

"Yeah it's me.. now tell me what the hell is going on around here!?"

Tazuna finally spoke up, his voice worn and raspy "Well it all started about a month after you left, all of gatos men came back, and since their employer was now dead they had to find some way to make money, so they began robbing people in the night, often killing them if they didn't cooperate, and things just kept getting worse, they destroyed the bridge you worked so hard to protect, and they wouldn't let anyone leave. From then everything has gone to hell you can't even walk the streets without worrying about being robbed, or worse murdered, so everyone stays in their houses, hopelessly waiting for someone to save them... or.. to die Inari has tried fighting them but he barely escaped with his life and I've forbidden him to leave the house"

Naruto looked down with sadness, he spent all these years thinking he had helped these people and really he had just made things worse, he had to fix this, and now he had the power to do so, getting rid of the criminals was only a small part of it, the real challenge would be not only rebuilding the physical damage done to this land, but also the emotional toll it had taken on it's people. They needed saving, and luckily for them Naruto was already the savior of one village.

"Tazuna, Inari , Tsunami, I'm sorry I let this go on for so long, but you can rest easy now knowing that things will get better, I'm going to take down those scum, but I'm not stopping there, we'll rebuild this land and turn it into the beautiful place it was always meant to be!" Said Naruto as he headed for the door

"Wait Naruto! This isn't just the group of criminals that were with Gato, they've grown, and aside from their number they have a leader, I know it seems like there's no organization but they're all scared of this guy, he's an extremely powerful Shinobi, apparently a rogue from the mist like Zabuza" Tazuna replied dejectedly

"It doesn't matter who he is, I'm gonna go kick his ass! Trust me gramps I've changed alot since we last met, just wait here, I'll handle it" and with that Naruto walked out into the mean streets of the Wave

"I hope he's right... for all of our sake" Tazuna stated

"I know he can do it" Inari said with a spark in his eye"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX

A lone figure stood outside Konoha  
"So I see you've finally resurfaced, we shall meet again soon... my son, Zakushi"

A/N yep, well there you go finally a new chapter, hope you guys enjoyed it! Oh and you can probably expect the next one out in less than a week but we'll see how It goes, as always thanks for reading and please review!


	11. An eye for an eye

"And that is why I've decided that Ino will be the One going on missions with you while Naruto is away" Tsunade stated as she sat upon her Chair in the Hokage tower

Ino squealed excitedly at the fact that she would get to go on a mission with Zakushi. He however didn't seem too thrilled at the idea.

"Soo

A few years ago this would have driven Sakura crazy, but truth be told her and Ino had grown alot closer in the last few they were drawn together by Mutual loss of their mutual love interest, but She didn't want to think about him right now. When The thought of Sasuke entered her head it always left leaving her even more confused than the last time.

She thought she loved him, maybe she even did at one point but now she could only think of one other person. Naruto.

'Ugh he's such an idiot. Why did he have to leave now of all times? He basically disappears off the face of the earth for 2 weeks, only ever leaving his home to Visit his good friends at Ichiraku Ramen. and then as soon as he resurfaces he leaves the village for another.. god knows how long. I know i'd never admit it to anyone but I really do miss that fool when he's gone'

She was broken out of her train of thought as Tsunade began to chuckle

"Eh, what is it Lady Tsunade?" Sakura asked

"Oh nothing, you can all go now"

And with that they all left, Sakura by herself and Ino following Zakushi hopelessly.

Tsunade kept quiet to prevent Sakura from getting embarrassed, but she knew exactly what she was thinking about, it was the same look she always made herself when she thought about Jiraiya, oh how she missed that old pervert, but for now she had to work on the matter at hand, she would use all of her knowledge and power as the leader of an entire hidden village into one extremely meaningful purpose, bringing Naruto and Sakura together.

XXX

Sakura sighed as she sat down at Ichirakus with Ino

"Okay Sakura tell me what's going on, it's obviously about Naruto considering we're eating at his favorite noodle stand"

"Am I that obvious? Okay.." Sakura looked around to make sure nobody was listening in on her conversation, you could never be too careful in a village full of Ninjas, and contrary to popular belief ninjas are quite the gossipers. Considering their job involved keeping secrets all the time, when they come across unrestricted information they made sure everyone knew it.

"Spit it out Sakura" Ino said sternly, she was so tempted to call her forehead, but that might prevent her from hearing this juicy gossip, so she decided against it."

"Okay fine... you know how a few weeks ago I said that I... I might like Naruto?"

"Go on"

"Well I... think that I.."

"I'm listening"

"I... thithtiminlvwhnrto"

"Um... what was that?

"Ithinkthatiminlovewithnaruto "

"You think Hinata is a hoe?"

"I SAID I THINK THAT I'M IN LOVE WITH NARUTO!"

Everyone within a half mile radius was now staring Directly towards what they had just heard, and it didn't help that everyone in the village knew who Naruto was. Sakura began blushing madly after realizing how loudly she had said that.

"Well gee Sakura you don't have to be so loud I heard you the first time" Ino said with a chuckle

"YOU STUPID INO PIG IM GONNA KILL YOU"

And again they began to stare at the crazed woman "I bet she ends up with a bunch of cats" said one random passerby to another

Ino chuckled again "if you kill me you won't have anyone to talk to about Naruto"

"Well maybe I could just talk to Hinata, if she's the hoe you think she is I bet she knows alot about men..." Sakura said with a sly grin"

"Don't you dare tell her I said that!" Ino screamed

And again the villagers stared "geez we hit the crazy exacta" said the random passerby once again, strangely enough that random passerby was never seen again, they say he died a strange ramen bowl related death.

After making such a scene Sakura and Ino decided to head back to Sakura place to talk.

"Okay so you seriously think you LOVE Naruto?" Ino said, Still not fully convinced

"Yeah.. I know it sounds crazy after the way I've always acted towards him, but he's always been there for me, always so loyal, absolutely nothing like Sasuke. Yet for some reason I kept on thinking Sasuke would change, that he was just too stubborn to admit how he really felt about me, but I was wrong, he never cared about anything but his stupid clan" She signed

"I can't believe how long it's taken me to finally realize how I feel. I'm such an idiot"

"Stop beating yourself up Sakura, I fell for Sasuke the same way you did, hell half of the girls in our class did. But why did he leave all of the sudden? It's not like him to go on solo missions"

"That's what I can't figure out, Lady Tsunade would hardly give me any information except that he would be gone for a long time" she sighed again

"I guess I won't know until he comes back"

XXX

Tsunade sneezed, she knew someone was talking about her, but she couldn't worry about that now. Kakashi suddenly jumped in through the window.

"You called for me lady Hokage?"

"You could use the door you know... but yes, round up Sakura, Ino, and Zakushi for me, I have a job for them"

XXX

Naruto ran through the town swiftly, seeping with anger.

'Why do people always have to take advantage of the weak? It isn't fair, these people never did anything to deserve this, any of it. Yet still they continue to be exploited, it's so frustrating.'

Meanwhile down a distant alleyway a young boy was being chased by 2 thugs

"Come back pipsqueak we just wanna talk about this, we promise we won't hurt you" said one of the thugs with a chuckle

"Just leave me alone!" He screamed as he continued running with all his might. However despite his efforts his feet got ahead of him and he fell to the ground with a 'thud'.

The two men approached with sinister smiles on their faces

"Well we was gonna go easy on ya but since ya didn't listen to us... we think we're just gonna give ya the usual"

"Please stop I didn't do anything wrong!" The boy pleaded

"On the contrary my friend, you see your parents have missed their payments 2 weeks in a row.. and Datofuru just can't accept that"

"Yeah. So now we's gonna show ya parents what happens when they cross the boss man" he drew his knife and thrashed it down toward the boy but it was stopped short by some force currently unknown to his primitive mind. He looked up to See a boy around the age of 16 wearing some tacky orange jumpsuit, who looked like he had some kinda weird disease, considering he had green bags under his eyes.

"Who the hell are.."

The man was cut off as a rasengan contacted with his face and sent him flying into a nearby wall. He was out cold in an instant.

"You fricken little bastard why'd you do that to Damaru, now I'm gonna have to kills ya"

Naruto didn't say a word as he formed another Rasengan in his hand and sent the man flying right into the other one

The boy seemed even more scared now and began running again, but he tripped in fear once again as soon as he got up and scooted back into a corner, going into the fetile position

"Please don't hurt me, we don't have any more money!"

"Stand up. I'm not here to hurt you, I'm here to stop these men"

The boys demeanor suddenly changed from scared to downright unimpressed, he must have been about 11 years old.

"Oh... you'll just die like the other men did, maybe you can take out common thugs like those guys but you're no match for Datofuru."

"I guess we'll see about that one kid.. you know you talk big for someone who cowers in a corner while someone else saves his sorry ass. I met a kid like you once, he was nothing until he finally started having faith in people again. When I tell you I'm going to take down this bastard I mean it, because I'm Naruto Uzumaki and I never go back on my word!"

And with that he left the boy alone with his thoughts, continuing on hoping he would run into this Datofuru guy along the way so he could give him a piece of his mind.

XXX

"So what if Naruto still hasn't come back on a few months?" Ino asked, eager to see how deeply Sakura's feelings really went

"Then I'll bust down the door to lady Tsunades office and force her to tell me where he went!" Sakura said excitedly

Ino was amazed at her tenacity. Of course she was always short tempered, and pretty quick to get into a fight, but she never spoke out against the Hokage like this.

Sakura was determined to let Naruto know how she felt after all this time she had kept him waiting, he deserved to know even if he didn't feel the same way anymore.

'If he doesn't feel the same way' She thought with a sigh. It would crush her if he had moved on, if he had relinquished those feelings she always knew he had for her, but honestly she deserved it.

She and Ino were broken from their thoughts when they heard a knock at the door. Sakura walked over and swung it open

"Oh, hey Kakashi sensei what brings you here?"

"Lady Tsunade sent me her, she has a mission for the 3 of you"

XXX

About an hour later Zakushi, Sakura and Ino had all gathered in Tsunade's office

"As I'm sure Kakashi has already informed you I have a mission for you, you're to go the land of waves and tale down a group of criminals who have been terrorizing the citizens for months, I know we have no alliance with their land, but Sakura I'm sure you can understand why I want to help them"

"Yeah... that place sure brings back some memories" Sakura said longingly

"What's so special about it?" Zakushi asked boredly

"It was our first mission. Naruto, Sasuke and I. It was supposed to be a simple escort mission, but it turned out our employer had lied about the details, and we all ended up facing off against some extremely powerful Rogue Shinobi from the mist. We managed to come out of it alright, but I think we all changed a lot on that mission"

"Geez I didn't ask for your life story" Zakushi said with a sly grin "but still who's to say those rogue shinobi from back then aren't the ones behind all of this?"

"Not possible, they were both killed that day.."

"Well I know it couldn't have been Naruto who killed them, maybe this Sasuke guy was more of a badass then I gave him credit for he is an Uchiha after all" Zakushi said with pride

"It wasn't like that" Sakura said defensively  
"They may have been rough around the edges, but in the end they weren't so bad, one died defending the other, and then he was killed by his own employers."

Zakushi seemed outraged at this, one person sacrificing their life for another. That was something he was all too familiar with

"what's the point of dying for someone who loves you, instead of dying they'll spend their whole life wishing they were dead, yet unable to let themselves die, knowing your sacrifice would have been in vain, why would you put someone through that kind of pain!" Zakushi screamed before he had even realized what he was saying

"I... I'm sorry, forget what I said, I.. I'll see you guys in the morning" and he was gone in a puff of smoke.

Ino looked over sadly at where he was just standing

'He tries to act so cool all the time, but I can't imagine the pain that's inside of him. Maybe one day he'll open up to me..' Ino thought with a frown.

After Zakushi's outburst Sakura and Ino were dismissed from Tsunades office, they both went home to prepare for the long journey ahead of them. Yet Kakashi still lingered.

"He's alot different from any other Uchiha Isn't he?" He said in his usual calm tone

"Yeah. The Uchiha have always been a clan of vengeance, an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. Pretty ironic since their Bloodline trait is an optical Jutsu. Yet within Zakushi I sense nothing but sadness. He says he wants revenge but I'm not sure that's his true objective"

"Yeah, he's quite the curious one. Then again if he wasn't, you would have seen to it that he was executed that day he came into our village" Kakashi replied

"Perhaps"

"I also noticed that you sent Sakura to the same place Naruto happened to be on his "Solo" mission that he was so insistent on doing alone. You wouldn't happen to be playing matchmaker, would you Tsunade?" Kakashi said with a sly Undertone

"I have no idea what you're talking about, I just thought Naruto could use some help. Now get the hell out of here I have work to do" Tsunade said irritatingly as she picked up her bottle of booze

"Yeah.. work.." Kakashi said, immediately diving for the window to avoid flying booze.

XXX

The following morning Zakushi, Ino and Sakura set off for the land of waves.

Zakushi hadn't said a word since his outburst from the previous evening. They finally stopped at dawn after a long day of travel. Sakura was out like a light, or at least that's what it seemed like. In reality she couldn't stop thinking about Naruto and how she was going to break the news to him once he finally came back to the village. She sighed as she was coming up with nothing 'oh well, I have plenty of time to think about it' she soon drifted off to sleep.

Zakushi however was just sitting there against a tree staring off into the distance. Ino went over and sat beside him and pressed her knees up against her chin

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked

"About what?" He replied, seemingly annoyed

"About yesterday, what happened in the Hokage tower. I know you don't want to talk about it with me.. but I just want you to know I'm here for yo..." she was cut off as Zakushi spoke up

"She was my mother. We lived in a small village bordering the land of fire. It may have been a bit boring for a kid my age but I was happy there. Back then I didn't know much about my father, my mother always told me that he just travelled a lot, and that i'd meet him when I was older. I realize now she was just trying to protect me, but still I wish she would have told me the truth from the start. Maybe I could have done something to prevent, maybe she would still be alive right now" Zakushi put his head down holding back the tears. He swore to himself that he would never cry again, it would only stain the memory of his mother that loved him so much.

Ino scooted closer and put her hand on his shoulder signalling him to keep going with his story

"He came to our village late one night, I woke to the sound of screaming and I panicked I ran out onto the street to see everything burning, everyone burning. And then he appeared before me, as if out of thin air. He told me that he would take away everything I loved so that the power inside of me could awaken, he killed all of the villagers, all of my friends, their families, the livestock, yet for some reason he didn't kill her..." he trailed off again for a moment before continuing

"Yet after all of this, after losing everything I still hadn't awakened this power he assumed was inside of me, he called me useless, he pulled out a Kunai and just before he it could reach my chest, my mother dove in front of me.. she died there in my arms, my father stood there staring at his Kunai through his mask, if he were anyone else I would have thought he almost looked upset, but I had to have been kidding myself"

"After that everything was a blur, suddenly I felt my eyes burning, my whole body was fueled by rage, that was the moment I awakened my Sharingan, my father started laughing, and then just like that he was gone"

"I lost everything that night. I spent years training nonstop, almost to the point of death, but finally I emerged with a strength that I never could have imagined, looking forward to nothing but the day I could kill my father. But I realize now that revenge won't bring my mother back, and she wouldn't have wanted me to go down this path anyway. But still I continued. After years of searching I turned into nothing but a powerful thief, but apparently I pissed off the wrong people because that's when your village sent for my capture. I guess you know the rest" Zakushi said with a sigh, he had never told anyone about his past, but somehow he felt safe telling it to Ino.

"Zakushi I... had no idea you'd been through so much. I don't know what I can say besides thank you. Thank you for telling me that, I know it was hard for you. And I want you to know that you aren't alone now, you have us. Me, Naruto, Sakura, I know Naruto might act like a jerk to you all the time, but him and Sasuke were the same way always at eachothers throats about every little thing, but at the end of the day they were best friends"

"Yeah.. I know. Thank you. I've just gotten so used to being alone that I've been pushing you away, and I'm sorry for that Ino"

"Well you aren't alone now" She said as she laid her head against his shoulder. They both sat there in silence until finally they drifted off to sleep.

XXX

Naruto had spent the entire day taking down thugs and lowlifes yet he still hasn't gathered much info on the whereabout of their leader, but still he had made a huge ruckus, it was only a matter of time before one of them ran back to the boss to warn about the blonde fox boy who had been thinning their numbers.

He returned to Tazuna's that night empty handed, promising he would continue his search the next day before crashing on the couch and drifting off to sleep.

A/N okay I think this is definitely my longest chapter yet, hope you guys enjoyed it and expect the next one to be even Longer, also expect a bit of narusaku goodness ;p. Should be out next Friday at the latest. Until then thanks to the people that reviewed the last chapter, thanks to everyone who reads this one, and please leave me a review letting me know what you think!


	12. Arrival

To the person who asked if i would make tobi Obito: No I'm afraid not.. It really sucks that it ended up that way but I had this story planned out way before we knew about tobi and the entire plot kinda revolves around Madara being the antagonist, like I said in an earlier chapter this is a "what if story that takes place immediately after Naruto defeats pain. So sorry to anyone who wants it to be obito /: it just wouldnt really work. So yeah this story is sure to contradict alot of what happens after the pain arc. Anyways thanks to the others that reviewed and please enjoy!

Naruto awoke early the next morning and set off immediately, apparently this 'Datofuru' guy never stayed in the same place for long, so it was hard to track him. he had also gathered that this man always wore a mask and used a strange Jutsu like no other.

He had been gathering Intel for a few hours and he was getting sick of these people, he knew why they wouldn't tell him anything, but that didn't make it any less annoying. Here he was trying to help them and all they could do was slam their doors in his face and tell him to go away. He had only met one strange old man who had given him any decent information, and he couldn't stress the word decent enough.

*Flashback*

Naruto knocked on what had to have been his 100th door today, surprisingly enough it immediately swung open revealing a small old man in his late 60's. He wore a ragged brown shirt that may have been white at some point, and blue cargo shorts with brown sandals. He had several visible bruises on his neck, face and arms.

"If you're here for my money I'm afraid I don't have any, if you're here to beat me again let's get on with it, it's nearly time for my afternoon nap" the man said in a completely normal, southern tone, as if it had been a friendly greeting"

"I'm not here for any of that, in fact I'm here to prevent that from happening to you again. I just need information on Datofuru"

"Well why didn't you say so! It's nice to finally meet you.. Naruto" the old man said with a smile

"Eh.. how the hell do you know my name old man?"

"Heh heh I guess you're just as vulgar as I've been told. Tazuna is an old friend of mine. That remind me of the time when he and i were..."

Naruto trailed off as the man began to ramble on about his adventures with Tazuna as a kid. It seemed like it had been hours when his story finally concluded

"...And it turned out Shelly was actually a man named Sheldon all along! Man were we embarrassed heh heh. Prettiest man I ever saw..."

"Yeah that's great old man, so do you know anything about Datofuru or not?"

"Oh you wanted to talk about him? I thought you were just here for some juicy secrets about Tazunas past! You really need to learn to speak up boy"

"I was trying to be polite ya freakin' bag of wrinkles!"

"Heh heh bag of wrinkles, that's a new one. So do you wanna know about Datofuru or you gonna keep changing the subject?"

"But... I didn't... you... never mind. Yes I want to know about Datofuru please. "

"Now that's how ya talk to your elders boy. Heh heh. Anyways, I can't say I know much about that dirty trash can full'o poop, but I can tell you this: the man possesses a Jutsu by the likes'a which you've never seen before, I seen it with my own eyes as he tore my nephew limb from limb"

Naruto was shocked when he heard this. "Oh.. I'm uh, really sorry about that"

"Oh what bucky? That boy was an Idjit, hell if Datofuru hadn't done it he'd have ended up killing himself somehow anyways"

"Uh right..." Naruto said with a befuddled look on his face

'this old guy is a freakin nut case.. I'd better get out of here soon if he doesn't give me any good information'

"Now If you're done feelin bad about people that are already dead, I'd like to carry on with my explanation, anyways he's one powerful sumbitch, and he ugly too, atleast I'd imagine he's ugly since he's wearing that weird mask all the time. Oh and he's got that long black hair that I could only assume would belong to one of them hippies, except he kills people so I guess that can't be right" the man paused for a moment to think about

"Who knows. But yeah that's about all I know about him, that and he never stays in one place long, so finding him is gonna be like finding hay in a needle stack"

"Okay, well thanks for the help old man" and with that Naruto got out of there as fast as he possibly could and continued his search"

*End flashback*

He was suddenly broken from his thoughts when he heard a scream behind him, he turned around to see a group of several large men dragging a young woman out of her house,

"Let me go" she shouted

he immediately sprinted towards them, throwing kunai at their feet to startle them, they all jumped back and let the woman go, Naruto caught her before she could hit the ground

She looked up to him with a gleam in her eye "you're... naruto!"

"Man it seems I'm pretty famous around here" he said with a fox-like grin as he placed her down

"Look out!" She screamed as one of the men swung his large club at Naruto's head. He, however caught it in his hand with little effort and shattered it to pieces using his Chakra. He pounded the man into the ground and turned to speak to him

"This'll only take a minute, and then i'd like to have a word with you" he said as his eyes turned green and a rasengan formed in his hand. Another mab rushed at him with a sword and Naruto plunged the rasengan into his gut sending him flying into another man, knocking them both out. He took a step towards the other two men and they both turned tail and ran away full speed

He chuckled "they always act so tough until they meet someone they can't handle"

"Now you.." he said as be grabbed the last man by his collar and slammed him up against a wall "I'm sick of messing around with you idiots, tell me where your boss is.. now"

"I ain't telling you anything, you couldn't possibly do anything worse than what the boss will do to me if I do tell you"

"Oh really" Naruto plunged his fist into the mans stomach, making him cough up blood. but he wasn't done he continued punching the man repeatedly with his full strength, not holding back a bit. He didn't realize it but right now he was talking all of his frustrations out on this man.

About Sakura, about the way the people here were treated, about the Akatsuki and a the horrible things they had done. He finally stopped and lifted the broken bloody mess of a man back into the air without effort

"Are you ready to talk now?" Naruto said. It sounded more like a demand than a question

The man spat blood in his face and laughed

"You idiot. You think I'm gonna crack after that. That's how Datofuru say's hello"

Naruto threw him to the ground  
"Fine. If that's how you wanna play it, go back to your boss and tell him that Naruto Uzumaki is here, and I'm gonna kick his ass!"

"N.. Naruto Uzumaki..?" The man said as he stumbled away

"That was so hot..." the girl said in awe as she watched the man run away from Naruto

"Eh what was that?" Naruto said as he turned to face her

"N.. nothing." She said with a blush "I can't believe you're actually here! My name is Hanavey, nice to meet you" she exclaimed as she extended her hand to greet him.

She was a very pretty fair skinned girl with long brown hair and curves in all the right places, she wore a simple blue dress with sandals. Naruto may have been attracted to her if it wasn't for Sakura

'Ugh who am I kidding, I'll never be with Sakura, that's the whole reason I'm here in the first place' he thought to himself as he shook her hand

"Yeah, you too So I guess you wouldn't know anything about the whereabouts of Datofuru then would you?"

"No.. sorry. But hey it's almost dark out, how about you come in and let me make you some dinner" she said with a warm, hopeful smile

"Nah I think I'd better keep looking. and I'm not even really hungry.." just as he said that his stomach began to growl with the ferocity of an angry Tigon

"Uh on second thought maybe I'll take you up on that offer.. heh heh"

"Great!" She exclaimed. She grabbed his hand and led him inside

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 

Zakushi and the girls had set off early that morning only to find that the bridge had been destroyed, and the closest port was 10 miles from there, when arrived their boat was just leaving and they had to wait for the next one. they had lost quite a bit of time and had finally boarded their ship as the sun went down.

"Ugh. I can't believe we finally got on this stupid boat" Ino said as she plopped down on a crate

"Yeah and it doesn't even go straight into the town we're headed for" Sakura replied

"Complaining isn't going to get us anywhere, let's just take this time to rest, it's been a long day."

"Yeah I guess you're right..." Ino replied.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The meal was delicious, despite being poor Hanavey had still managed to make an amazing meal. Naruto sat back rubbing his stomach and took in his surroundings, it was a small house, and it certainly wasn't beautiful but somehow hanavey had still managed to make it look presentable.

She looked at Naruto in awe that he had managed to wipe out a week's worth of her food supply, but she didn't seem to mind a bit.

He resumed eating while they talked

"So uh... if you don't mind me asking, do you live here alone?" Naruto asked

"Yeah.. my parents were both killed by Gato's men nearly 4 years ago. I was living with my grandfather here until a few months ago. He was killed by one of Datofuru's men when he didn't pay them their 'taxes'" she said harshly as she held back the tears

"Sorry about that... I wish I had come sooner, I just didn't know how bad things really are here. But I promise you this Hanavey, I'm going to stop Datofuru. I'm not gonna let anyone else get hurt" Naruto said feeling guilty, he wished more than ever that he had returned to this place sooner

"Thank you Naruto. You don't know how happy that makes me, maybe nobody else has faith but I do! I was here back then, when you and your friends defeated gato, Zabuza and the others, I had given up all hope. I knew I'd never live a happy life here but then Inari came to my door and told me everything that was going on, he wanted my parents to go and fight but I told him they were already dead."

"I thought you would all die like the others, but you were different. For some reason I went anyways. To the bridge I mean, I saw you there covered in blood, yet you were Still standing there with that look of determination in your eyes, and suddenly I didn't feel so hopeless anymore.. I've been waiting ever since that day to say thank you Naruto"

"Heh.. happy to help I guess. Even if it wasn't on purpose." He replied awkwardly, he didn't know what to say in this situation, a girl had never acted this interested in him before

"Well I guess I'd better get back to old man Tazuna's house before he assumes I'm dead. And thanks for the meal Hanavey it was great" he said with a goofy smile as he began to walk out

"Wait! Let me walk you home. Its dark out and you don't know your way around town. I know where he lives I used to play with Inari there when we were younger... Oh! but it's not like anything is going on between us he's way to young for me. Besides I like blondes.. "

"Uh huh.." Naruto replied completely oblivious to what she had been suggesting "let's get going then"

they arrived at Tazuna's house shortly after, Naruto was about to enter when Hanavey placed her hand on his shoulder "Wait Naruto I... I just wanted to thank you for saving me today, and for everything"

"Yeah well it was no problem, you take care of yourself Hanavey!" He was about to turn around when she began moving closer to him

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X

They had finally made it to the town and were making their way through the streets, Sakura was desperately trying to remember exactly where Tazuna lived but it wasn't easy in the dark.

"Ugh c'mon Sakura you said you've been here before just take use to his house already"

"I... found it..." Sakura said as she saw the silhouette of a young girl lean in to kiss Naruto...

A/N don't kill me, don't kill me! *Hides under a rock* I know I said there would be NaruSaku in this chapter but I just had to end it here. However you won't have to wait a week this time because i plan on releasing the next chapter on Tuesday, so just think of this as part 1 to the chapter as a whole. Anyways Thanks for reading and please review!


	13. Deception

Aaand here's chapter 13! I'd like to thank Exxcaliburr and 25BAM50 for reviewing last chapter! Please enjoy, you may be getting a small dose of Narusakuness later in this chapter but I can't spoil anything noe can I? Also remember this story has a LONG way to go so don't expect everything to fall into place just yet :p.

Sakura just stood there in shock as she watched what was happening, at first she thought that maybe it was alright, maybe this girl had caught Naruto off guard, and as she kissed him it was obvious that Naruto wasn't responding at all. Well at first anyways.

Naruto was shocked, he had only met this girl and yet here she was kissing him, it was almost as if everything was happening in slow motion. At first he was hesitant, he had never even kissed a girl before and aside from that he had always hoped Sakura would be his first kiss.

'Who am I kidding. Sakura would never want to kiss me, I know despite what happens I'll still be in love with Sakura.. but what could one kiss hurt'

And so he kissed her back, he poured all of his anger, his sadness, and his grief into that one kiss. Yet still he felt nothing. This was a great girl, she was beautiful, kind hearted and best of all she actually wanted HIM, he knew he should be happy but there was just one problem; it wasn't Sakura.

When Sakura saw him deepen this kiss she was crushed. She came all this way to tell him how she felt. But now it was for nothing. Ino was about to speak up when Sakura put her hand over her mouth and pulled the Three of them behind some bushes where they wouldn't be seen

"What the hell Sakura, that girl is over there with her lips all over your man and you're just gonna let it happen?" Ino whispered angrily

"He isn't my man Ino... as far as he knows I'm still just as cold towards him as I've always been, I have no right to stop him" this is what Sakura said, but in all honesty she wanted to fly out of that bush and rearrange that girls face until she couldn't ever kiss Naruto again. But she couldn't. If this girl made Naruto happy then so be it.

" C'mon let's go find somewhere else to stay tonight "

Ino followed hesitantly, Zakushi behind her. What neither of them noticed were the blood red orbs that had formed in Zakushi's eyes. With his Sharingan he could read Naruto's expressions perfectly, it was almost as if he could see into his very mind.

'There's no way he had wanted to kiss that girl, he was thinking about Sakura the whole time. But even if I tell her she'll never believe me, they'll just have to work it out on their own. Ugh why did I end up on such a troublesome team.

* * *

Finally after what seemed like hours Naruto broke away from Hanavey. He was so confused at this point he had no idea what to say. So he let her speak first.

"Naruto why don't you stay at my place tonight. I could help you look for h.. for morning."

"Uh..." Naruto was pretty dense but even he knew what she was implying here

'There's no way I could... I mean I barely even know her and... she's kissing me again isn't she'

He knew this was wrong, he was leading this poor girl on but he just couldn't force himself to stop her.

This time it was Hanavey who broke off the kiss. She grabbed his hand and led him back towards her house. The whole time the only thing Naruto could think was how wrong this was, yet still he didn't utter a word, he couldn't. And he didn't know why. Maybe it was because he had spent nearly his entire life void of any physical contact, maybe it was all his mixed up emotions clouding his judgement, or maybe it was something else entirely...

* * *

Despite their best efforts it seemed to be impossible to find an open hotel in this town.

"Things must be pretty bad around here if they don't even have an inn." Ino sighed "can't we just go back to that Tazuna guys house"

"No.. I can't face Naruto right now. We'll head over there first place in the morning"

Just as Sakura finished her sentence a small a small old man came running full speed out of an alleyway

"You'll never take me alive ya dirty hooligans!" The man screamed as he continued running while looking behind him. Without looking he slammed right into Zakushi's chest, falling over from the impact

"Uh.. are you okay old man?" Zakushi asked quite confused

"Your headband... so you're from the leaf too are ya? Okay then, take out those thugs!"

"Uhh..."

Just then three men turned the corner, all wielding small daggers. They ran towards the old man ready to strike. He of course his behind Zakushi, which wasn't very hard considering he was at least a foot shorter

The first man lunged at Zakushi with his dagger, he simply grabbed it and punched the man in the gut knocking him out cold. The other two attacked together, both stabbing straight for his heart, just as they thought they had made contact his body turned into a block of wood

"Eh.. where the hell did he go.."

"Behind you" Zakushi said as he rematerialized behind them, they both tried to turn but he was too fast, he grabbed both of their head and slammed them together with little effort, instantly knocking the dumbfound duo out. Sakura and Ino just stood there and watched it all go down with shocked expressions

"Man I hate beating up weaklings" Zakushi said as he wiped the dust off his clothes

"Well thanks for the help son but I was just about to put them down once I was done messin with em. Anyways what could you possibly be thinking keepin these beautiful young ladies out so late" the old man said in his raspy southern tone

"Well actually sir we don't have anywhere to stay tonight, so I guess we'll just camp out here in the streets with all these big mean men" Ino said sadly, putting on the cutest puppy dog face she could muster

"Well I s'pose you two could stay at my place tonight... I got plenty'a room" the old man replied pervishly

"What do you mean 'you two' old man?" Zakushi said as he stood over the old man, eyes glowing red

"Uhh what I meant to say was you two and your amazing partner who saved my life. Heh heh heh"

"Yeah that's what I thought..."

The man led them back to his house, which was much smaller than he had promised but it would have to do.

"So uh I only have one bedroom, I really like my privacy and all but I guess I could make room in my bed for you two lovely ladies..."

Sakura was hardly in the mood for a Pervy old man right now. "The floor will be just fine"

"But I..." the old man tried to interject but was cut off by the terrifying red eyed glare he was receiving from both women "uh... right then I'll get you some pillas and blankets. Say where's that yella haired kid?"

"Oh you must mean Naruto" Ino replied "we actually just arrived here so we haven't seen him yet, we were sent to assist him on his mission"

"I see. He came in here yesterday callin me all kinda names, boy ain't got no manners but he sure does have spunk. Nothin like this other weirdo you have with you"

"ILL SHOW YOU SPUNK OLD MAN" Zakushi screamed as he raised his fist but was stopped by A swift punch to the face by Sakura

Zakushi just picked himself up off the floor, rubbed his head and stepped aside. He knew it wasn't a good time to mess with Sakura right now.

"Heh heh man do these girls have you whipped" the old man said with a huge smile on his face

"Say uh..." Sakura stopped herself realizing she didn't know the mans name

"The names Bukinato Missy"

"Mister Bukinato, when You saw Naruto, was there a girl with him?"

"Uh nope not unless she was invisible, you're the only young girls I seen in these parts in years. Well except for.. that one" he replied grimly

"What do you mean 'that one'?"

"Well let's just say she isn't the kind of girl you'd want to be messing with, she may look pretty on the outside, but inside she's pure evil"

they all seemed shocked at this. "Wh... what does she look like?" Sakura asked worriedly

"Hmm, pale skin, brown hair, certainly not lacking around the chest area.. but uh yeah she's still evil"

"There's no doubt about it. That's the girl Naruto was with" Zakushi said rather matter of factly

"Oh so you're saying you were staring at her chest?" In questioned

"No, I uh.."

"Shut up you two!" Sakura said angrily "Mister Bukinato, what do you mean when you say she's evil?"

"Well it's her Jutsu, she lures men in, makes them want to be with her if you know what I mean, yet she allows them to thin they're actin of their own accord, and then when they least expect it..."

* * *

When they reached Hanavey's house Naruto had completely given up on resisting, as soon as they closed the door he pressed his lips against hers again and met with no Resistance, she pushed him down onto the couch and laid down on top of him resuming their kiss.

Somewhere deep inside his mind Naruto was still resisting. Finally one word ran through his head 'Genjutsu!' And that's when he felt the needle piercing his flesh, his last thought was of Sakura as he slipped away from consciousness.

* * *

They rushed down the streets swiftly. Sakura couldn't believe how stupid she was, if they had just stepped out and shown their presence to Naruto all this could have been avoided, if she wasn't so afraid of the thought of him being happy with someone else..

She broke from her thoughts as they arrived at the house the old man had described

Sakura immediately busted down the door with her immense strength, but just as she had feared Naruto wasn't there

"He was here" Zakushi said as he picked up the needle she had used to drug him

"But he isn't now.." Sakura said glumly

"Don't worry. I can track his Chakra trail using my Sharingan"

"You can do that?" Ino asked amazed

"Yeah, normally it isn't easy but Naruto's Chakra is always leaking out. He really does suck at controlling it for someone so strong"

"Yeah.. that's Naruto alright, let's go!" Sakura said urgently

* * *

Naruto awoke in a field full of flowers of all kinds, he stood up to see a Beautiful woman with long pink flowing hair running towards him. She approached him without a ward and caressed her hand down his cheek. She smiled as she leaned in to kiss him. Yet just as their lies were about to meet she suddenly turned into ashes and crumbled away into nothingness. The beautiful field of flowers slowly transformed into a barren wasteland. Off in the distance Naruto could see a single man standing upon a cliff, eyes glowing red as he laughed maniacally.

Naruto let out a bloodcurdling scream as he tried to jolt upright, but something was tying him down, he was in a chair tied down by strange glowing chains, his Chakra was completely drained. he immediately realized that it was just a dream. But why was he in this strange room? The room was almost completely dark. The only thing lighting it was a lone candle.

But why was he here? The last Thing he remembered he was...

'Oh crap I was making out with Hanavey... but I didn't want to, I wanted to stop it. So why couldn't I..?'

"Aww how adorable you still can't figure it out can you?"

"H.. Hanavey?"

"You're just as foolish as he said you would be, to think I would actually be interested in a fox faced weirdo like you"

Naruto was still confused he understood now what she did but.. "why?" Was all he could manage to muster

"It's simple Naruto. I did it.. for revenge" Hanavey replied

"Revenge for what?"

"Stop acting so innocent Naruto" said a masked figure as he stepped out of the darkness in front of the candlelight

Naruto instantly recognized this voice. It was soft, but also somewhat hoarse. Instantly he came to the realization of who it was.

"Haku...?"

* * *

A/N Aaand there's another cliffhanger for you.. okay so maybe the Narusaku was short, and in a dream but it was still there! And could it be a prophetical dream? Hmmm.. anyways the next chapter should be up on Friday so thanks for reading and please review!


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